A video showing the final moments of the marathon event at the Delaware Running Festival has gone viral. Photo / aktiv8edleem
A marathon runner celebrated his win two seconds too early as another runner zoomed past him metres from the finish line.
Footage of the Delaware Running Festival on Monday showed runner Carson Mello slow down and celebrate with his arms raised as he approached the finish line – before Joshua Jackson zipped past him to win the race.
Two women standing holding the finish line tape at the event in the United States were left with their mouths open as Mello was overtaken. Both start laughing, and one woman uses her hand to hide her grin.
The video on Instagram, viewed more than 10 million times since it was posted, shows Jackson sprinting towards the finish line of the 42km race.
“He got it! He got it!” someone is heard shouting in the video as Jackson sneaks by to win.
Jackson, 24, finished the marathon in 2h 43m 12s and beat Mello by two seconds, according to Chrono Track, a race timing and event management company.
“Where did that extra Battery come from? He was so far behind. WOW,” said one comment.
“Never celebrate til you cross the finish line!!” said another.
The festival, which began in 2004 and bills itself as the state’s first and largest running event, winds through historic downtown Wilmington before finishing at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, according to the City of Wilmington.
It’s not the first time runners have regretted celebrating early.
New Zealand middle distance runner Geordie Beamish taught his American counterpart that lesson when he cut a celebration short at a race in Oregon in 2021.
As the runners made the turn into the home straight, Craig Engels took the lead and gestured to the crowd.
Rounding the bend in fourth, Beamish began his charge inside the final 100m and finished strong, leaving Engels to throw his head back in surprise as the Kiwi came flying down his outside.